Irvine leading Square payments revolution

Irvine is among the top 20 cities in the United States for activations of the Square payment system and more than 18,000 people countywide have used the system, according to the company.

For the unfamiliar, Square is the hugely disruptive payment system which turns anyone into an entrepreneur. The device plugs into the headphone jack of iPhones, iPod Touches, iPads and other handheld devices to take credit card payments just about anywhere. It's very simple and easy to use (I've tried it).

The payment reader is free from Square, but the company charges 2.75 percent for each transaction.

If you sign up through the Square website, they send you the small reader for free or you can pick one up for about $10 at a store like Target or the Apple Store and receive $10 back when you activate the Square account.

They're so confident in this model, they're giving away the hardware required to do it.

Is it secure? Is it reliable? I don't know. I've been following Square for a while, and I've seen some back and forth among Square and other payment systems.

But more than 18,000 people in Orange County have decided it's worth a shot and that, to me, is a number that can't be ignored.

Long Story Short

Take notice - not only is the company Square disruptive to payment systems, but it's enabling a wave of disruption by giving a new generation of entrepreneurs a ridiculously simple way of taking credit card payments.

If you've used Square, either as a customer or as an entrepreneur, please share in the comments how the experience worked out.

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